Why has Mr Shimel been banned from this forum? This was open, then “moderated”, then re-opened. Now we have a member banned?
Mr Shimel may be abrasive and his delivery might lack subtle graces, but he’s simply expressing his opinion and declaring his actions. His authenticity is alarming. I only wish there were more people who say what they mean and mean what they say AND are then willing to walk the walk regardless of popular opinion.
I do not agree with Mr Shimel’s opinion. I personally do not care for his methods. I’m on record on this for a long time and have had some heated conversations with him in regards to the PRS over time.
But I do not understand why his posts are not allowed. I do not see him “ruining” The Game, I do not see him “ruining” the games he’s playing in.
I had just finished reading both threads when I returned to the main page and found one missing. Within minutes the other had been deleted as well. I am outraged that Harlequin would do this. I read both the threads and find no reason whatsoever that they should be removed. I am outraged. This should be an open forum. Frankly if they continue to block him from this forum and delete his posts I will no longer continue to play MEPBM.
Frankly I think that Harlequin’s customer service is worse than my opinions about the method of calculating VP’s and the PRS. Many of you should have read my feelings about them unless they too have been deleted.
Let’s see if I too can get deleted and banned. Harlequin, I think that your customer service sucks. I think that banning Darrel from this forum and deleting those threads was a bad choice and reminds me of the behavior of a child. Your tact is that of a left handed quadriplegic monkey with Napoleon’s syndrome. So delete me too Harlequin.
But wait, just be aware that when my post goes missing I will take it upon myself to personally email this post to the players of this fine game until I feel satisfied. I will post it and post it under however many different accounts I need to create until the majority have heard it.
I just noticed that my post on the censorship issue has been deleted as well. Is that an oversight or overly active delete button reflex Clint?
I don’t mind PRS, I don’t accept Darrell’s position it will ruin the game. I still don’t see any utility in the PRS so to me this is a tempest in a tea cup. I do however see a problem with censorship or the banning of a player who is obviously active in games from posting on a site that is supposed to be for the exchange of views between those who play the game. If people can only post what is pleasing to the moderator then this ceases to become a forum and becomes simply a house rag.
There have been much more objectional threads here recently than Darrells and they were allowed to go on and on with no imput from the moderator. I personally find Ben’s “I don’t give a **** about the whole state of Michigan” objectionable we all know what the asterix are supposed to stand for and yet he is allowed to post that any time he wishes with nothing said to him about clean it up. Darrells sin is he gets on Clints nerves and won’t go away.
Clint, he cannot have a debate if you don’t respond. So he doesn’t like PRS so what. Can he make you make it go away by saying so. Are you seeing people leave the game because of PRS or because of Darrell’s strident objection to it? If the answer is no, blow him off. If the answer is yes maybe you do need to reconsider.
Darrell give it a rest. I really don’t think it is worth the effort.
Again my view is no censorship other than for commonly accepted levels of decency belongs on this forum.
Pathetic. This is NOT a public forum. This is a PRIVATELY owned and operated message board. Yes, free speech is all great and wonderful, but not when someone is footing the bill. Get over it. The board is already moderated for language and other inappropriate topics. Shimel has decided to turn it into his own private rant against PRS, Clint, and whatever else his dazzling intellect can come up wih. If he wants to rant so much let him start his own website and quit wasting bandwidth here.
The first time Clint stepped in and moderated the board and essentially hamstrug postings he asked if he should butt out and was essentially told yes he should. So am I correct in understanding you don’t mind censorship as long as he is silenceing someone you don’t like?
Careful here Ben,
As for pathetic, I don’t find myself pathetic at all. I don’t feel I am wasting bandwidth in my calls for an open forum. After all forum was the public market place where views could be exchanged. I am not trying to make anything personnal here. I have said what I have based on principle. I believe Brad Brunet has voiced a similar if not exactly the same view. Don’t make the mistake of turning everything into something personal. While you’re at it moderate yourself and get thinly veiled profanity off your posts.
Ben: Who owns and operates it? It was originally set up by a Player, NOT the company. That player proposed it as the replacement for the former pbmforum, invited MEGames (Clint) as an Administrator and MEGames (Clint) accepted and they (MEGames/Clint) “support” it, whatever that means besides a link on their website. So, if you know who is paying and therefore who is not paying, please tell us. It might make both your post and this discussion more meaningful.
Whether you agree/disagree or like/dislike the individual involved, the point is simply that Darrell has been effectively banned from posting in Both the moderated and unmoderated forums simply for voicing his opinion. Irrespective of the manner of his doing so, I don’t understand what threat he poses to the bottom line of the company in so doing, and would dearly appreciate a reasoned explanation.
Is he driving newbies/new paying customers away? Maybe MEGames can send out a polite request for information to all their dormant accounts asking “Why” they’re dormant. I’d hate to think this is simply a personality-clash type hissy-fit.
Mr Shimel may have been annoying and more than a little ludicrous, but what actual harm was he doing? I`d like to know.
Censorship on the other hand is just plain wrong, especially in a game. Its just a game. We enjoy it. Hell, some of us even enjoy that rants of "other-minded" people. Also when you have to censor the voice of dissent, doesnt it smack of desparation?
What is the full story behind the decision, i`m sure the forum [open or in-house] would like to know…
It seems to me that all this reading, evaluating and deleting consumes a finite amount of company manhours. This adds to the expense of the PRS.
Let me propose a solution. The GM just says the PRS is not a topic of conversation on the forum and he asks the membership not to post on the subject. The great majority of the membership will respec that and the small handful who will not can just be ignored.
Originally posted by VEO
[b]Ben: Who owns and operates it? It was originally set up by a Player, NOT the company. That player proposed it as the replacement for the former pbmforum, invited MEGames (Clint) as an Administrator and MEGames (Clint) accepted and they (MEGames/Clint) “support” it, whatever that means besides a link on their website. So, if you know who is paying and therefore who is not paying, please tell us. It might make both your post and this discussion more meaningful.
Whether you agree/disagree or like/dislike the individual involved, the point is simply that Darrell has been effectively banned from posting in Both the moderated and unmoderated forums simply for voicing his opinion. Irrespective of the manner of his doing so, I don’t understand what threat he poses to the bottom line of the company in so doing, and would dearly appreciate a reasoned explanation.
Is he driving newbies/new paying customers away? Maybe MEGames can send out a polite request for information to all their dormant accounts asking “Why” they’re dormant. I’d hate to think this is simply a personality-clash type hissy-fit.
Brad Brunet [/b]
Whatever the case, Brad, this is still not a public forum and free speech doesn’t apply here. It’s a privately owned and operated messaged board by some individual or entity. Clint and whoever else controls the board has every right to moderate however they see fit because they own/operate it, not us.
As for my opinion of Shimel, everybody already knows that. But this has nothing to do with my opinion. Clint voiced his reasons for banning him, whether or not I agree with them is not relevant. It’s the same argument as you or someone else made before: throw water on the waiter, expect to get thrown out.
I’ll always take the side of free speach within limits…I can see where his personal attacks on the company would have been aggravating to those involved and it’s easy for me to say he didn’t cross the line since I wasn’t the target of those attacks…but I don’t think censorship is the way to go…it kind of reminds one of the cops hauling the homeless man with “the world is ending” sign off to jail
The question was what did he hurt. Well look at all the recent posts. They all had to do with shimels rants err "cuse me free speech. The fact that people were not talking about ongoing games is a detriment to the buisness. Hardly any insults being bantered back and forth. Any newbie reading lately would get the wrong idea about how this forum usually works and what goes on. Anything that doesn’t help a buisiness hurts it.
I don’t think Clint would allow any one person to threaten another player in some form and get away with it.In fact I know this to be the case. Why should he not protect himself and company when a threat was specifcally aimed at him. You can call me an ahole all you want but not where I have control and the right to stop it. Shimel has the right to stand on the street corner and call harly names,he has the right to start his own group and call people names, he does not have the right to go on a private board with controls, rant against them and expect nothing to happen. That ain’t the real world.
I could care less what shimel would do in a game with with me. It might help , it might hurt, that’s the breaks. People have been doing what he was treatening for years.
By the way if that homeless man threatens to bash your childs head in with that sign should he be allowed to that . I think he went way over the line for the basic intent of this forum.
This is probably the last for me as I have 3 turns coming in today and tomorrow.
nick
So is any mod from this forum or Harly going to post the new modified requirements for posting here or does Ben speak for the company?
Very few dislike Darrell as much as myself (dating back to GSI) but repression of a differing opinion is a cowardly act.
Is the mod/Harly going to post some comment about what has happened or hide in shadows?
Personally I think you are all seeing what happens when MEG games is pushed on an issue, their so-called great customer service goes in the tank. I have witnessed this in a recent exchange of heated emails. Since that time, I have gotten my 3rd choice in both games I requested. I believe that the game mod’s do take things personally and they do react accordingly despite what they say to the contrary.
Sort of strange that people that did not want to read about PRS seemed to lack the ability to skip over that thread and still use the forum for their own ends.
Then don’t play, Steve, if you’re not happy with the product and/or the service. Customers can always take their business elsewhere, or in extreme cases, start their own business and provide competition.
I am not speaking for Clint or the company, but I do recognize that the moderators of this board have the right to oversee the board and its discussions as they see fit because it is their board. We have the privelege of posting here so long as the topics covered are relevant, aren’t hostile towards the administrators/moderators/each other, and/or blatantly offensive to the general public (interpret that as you want).
As for my commenting on PRS, I could care less about it. I’m more interested in those people who see this as a forum against censorship and to argue that what Clint and other moderators are doing isn’t censorship rather keeping their board tidy and free from distraction.
ok…so if this forum isn’t the place to discuss changes in company procedure that effect the game <ie shimel strongly believes that the prs effects game play although I haven’t seen any evidence of this and don’t agree with him> then where is the place to do that? should there be a place where only disenfranchised players gather to argue over these things when obviously they can do little about changes without inputting into the company? I see the entire shimel arguement as actually beneficial to the company <albiet in a rather aggravating form> in that there has been no jumping on the shimel bandwagon to get rid of the prs thus they know it isn’t having an immediate adverse effect on game enjoyment…I still say he’s harmless and has the right to be heard…it’s not like he’s getting on here insulting an entire state of people… GO BLUE!!!
Violence, where do I say violence. Where does anyone say that.There’s more kinds of threats than just violence. Please find and educate me where you found the word violence.
nick
Turns coming in. bye
well nick…you made a comparison to a threat of violence…that is a rather poor comparison on your part if he didn’t indeed make one…a threat of I’ll get rid of the prs through my constant nagging is a hell of a lot different then I’ll get rid of the prs through bashing your head in with my “end of the world” sign…wouldn’t you say?
The threat was let’s stop clint from making money.
The homeless man thing was a response to your homeless man. A seperate statement altogether maybe poorly worded. Your homeless man to me had nothing to do with the discussion and my response was meant in kind.
nick
